The Foundation of the Great Life

As I look back over the past couple of weeks at what I have posted on this blog, two themes are clearly present: One, the importance of brokenness and the Cross as a gateway to Christ via the Holy Spirit. The second theme is the significance and preeminence of Love, Light and Life in the Spiritual realm. Christ is Love, Light and Life.

Today, as I was meditating, I came across some wonderful material from T. Austin-Sparks' book, "The Centrality and Universality of the Cross," that amplifies the second theme. Love, Light and Life are intertwined with the Cross and Christ. Sparks' notes that Light is based upon Love. Light and Love are the foundation of Life - the foundation of Christ. Here is how Sparks put it:

"In the Letter to the Ephesians it is most impressively made clear that even

Light Is Based Upon Love

"Ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strong to apprehend..." (3:17-18).

Earlier in the letter we have these words: "having the eyes of your heart enlightened..." (1:18). Then what immense things follow as to be known by the Church! We do not dwell upon them, but upon this fact, that light, knowledge, is the fruit which springs from rooting in love. It would seem that God not only gives, but gives abundantly, spiritual knowledge to those whose main characteristic is love. Love for Him, yes! but love for His own and for all men.

"I love the Father" (John 14:31). "The Father loveth the Son and sheweth Him all things..." (John 5:20).

So Christ attributed His own knowing all things from the Father to mutual love between them. But Christ was the personal embodiment and manifestation of God's love for the elect and for the world (John 3:16; 17:23). (See also Eph. 5:25) John is known as the Apostle of love. What a wealth of spiritual light has come to us through him! Paul was behind no one in this matter of Divine love and has given us the classic of all time as to it (1 Cor. 13). What fullness and depths of revelation the Church owes to him!

A scientist may describe a tear in terms of water, salt, and mucus, but the mother or lover UNDERSTANDS it in terms of its real meaning. A head knowledge is no knowledge at all in spiritual values. Only the knowledge which comes through the heart - travail, suffering, longing, heart-break over souls, toward the Lord - is vital knowledge. How much of the wealth of knowledge possessed by John, Paul, and others came out of their heart travail for the Church? Take that out, and there is not much left.

Love Buildeth Up

"...The increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love" (Ephesians 4:16).

You might not have thought of that when considering the material for building the Church. Truth, yes! Teaching, yes! Knowledge, yes! But the Holy Spirit singles out love for the main emphasis. Ephesus evidently stood for something in the matter of spiritual values. The fact that the Holy Spirit was so unrestrained in giving such light, light exceeding anything else in the whole Bible, is a fairly good proof of capacity. How well we know that when we minister in the Spirit we have liberty or restraint governed by the spiritual capacity of our hearers. We would often go further, but we just cannot. It comes back at us. At other times or places we can go all the way. Paul was just caught away with superlatives which piled themselves one upon another when he wrote that letter. The longest sentence without a full period in the Bible is found there. He could not stop for the rules and regulations of punctuation. Surely the explanation of this release of the Lord is found in His address to Ephesus in the Revelation (2:4) "Thou didst leave thy first love." "Thy first love." There must have been something very precious to the Lord at the beginnings of the church in Ephesus. It is like the cry and sob of a broken-hearted lover, whose love moves into jealousy and heat against the detractor and the unfaithfulness. He sees the triumph of the "god of this world" in blinding the mind, and is angry with Ephesus for complicity with him. Well, much, very much, can be added on this matter, but enough! Remember that the way in which the Church will be built inwardly and outwardly will not be alone by meetings, conferences, addresses, teaching, nor by campaigns, but by the bathing of all in love, and sometimes just pure love without lectures.

But - and is it necessary to say it? - this love is the fruit of a deeply crucified life. It is only in a true and adequate apprehension and appreciation of the Cross that the heart is enlarged to ALL men. 'Love to the loveless.' It is only as the Cross has struck deeply at the roots of pride, personal interest, ambition, reputation, selfishness, and concern for something less than the whole purpose of God, that God will really build His Church. The Church is the Lamb's WIFE. It is a LOVE matter! These two are one. She takes her very object in life from Him. She leaves all personal and former interests and relationships, and they two become one flesh."

Source: The Centrality and Universality of the Cross

Light is based upon Love and Love builds up. God builds His church on a foundation of love and it is this love that produces light and life. How beautiful!

The love that guides those who have fallen on the stone and have been utterly broken is the fruit of a deeply crucified life. The love that guides a deeply crucified life is a love that never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). Jesus showed us the way to God's heart - The Way. It is a narrow gate. Few find it. But it is there for all who are willing to let go and let God - to fall on the stone and be broken and crucified.

As I have noted before, crucifixion on the Cross leads to death of self/ego. Our wills - what we want - becomes irrelevant. God's will becomes our will.

God's will is for us to love - to love Him with all of our heart, mind and soul, and to love our neighbors and enemies (Matthew 5:43-44; 22:37-39).

God is love (1 John 4:8).

We can summarize everything we have been discussing over the past couple of weeks very simply:

Crucifixion via the Cross produces Love, Light and Life

Love produces Light

Light produces Life

Christ is Love, Light and Life

What God revealed through Jesus was a path directly to His heart of a love that never fails. The Spirit instructed us through Paul to imitate God and walk in love (Ephesians 5:1-2). We do this through crucifixion on the Cross.

Brokenness and crucifixion is a painful process. It is not easy! It takes time - sometimes a long, long time, depending on one's willingness to be utterly broken. As I have noted before, many people just flat out refuse to be broken. It has been and will always be about them and what they want. Hence, they never enter through the narrow gate and find the path to life.

However, if we are willing to fall on the stone and be broken, a miracle will occur. Our death will lead to a burial and a resurrection - we become new creations, born of the Spirit. As we die and our selves/egos become increasingly irrelevant, He increases. We begin to bear Spiritual fruit. The more He increases and the more we decrease the more fruit we bear. It is a direct correlation.

On the crucifixion side of the Cross lies the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Galatians 5:22-23). Christ is the true vine and His vine produces the sweetest fruit. The best of the best!

May you become a part of His vine via the Cross, and may you bear wonderful Spiritual fruit.

Agape,

Steve

Falling on the Stone

And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder." (Matthew 21:43-44)

I've been discussing the importance of brokenness over the past couple of weeks. Brokenness and the Cross go hand in hand. Through brokenness and the Cross, the spirit is released and we connect with God through the Holy Spirit. We become one with Him. It is through the Cross that we enter into Christ - God's true expression of love. Over time, as we carry our crosses daily, He increases and we decrease (John 3:30). Through the carrying of our crosses daily, we are reduced to His love and walk in that love (Ephesians 5:1-2). His light, His fruit manifest themselves in us and through us. In a word, we shine.

This morning I was meditating and came upon some Scripture that discussed brokenness. The particular verse was from Matthew Chapter 21. Just to provide a little context of the Scripture, the Lord is battling the religious leaders. They are questioning him on various matters, as they typically did. And, as always, the Spirit is pouring through Jesus. The Lord is speaking in parables about the Pharisees and the Pharisees realize this. After Jesus tells the parable of the landowner who planted a vineyard, he asked the Pharisees point blank:

"Have you never read in the Scriptures:

'The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the LORD's doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes'"?
(Matthew 21:42)

As it is recorded in the Scriptures, Jesus didn't give the Pharisees a chance to answer the question. The Lord carried right on and said:

"Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder." (Matthew 21:43-44)

"Whoever falls on this stone will be broken."

What a magnificent piece of Scripture! It goes right to the heart of what I've been blogging on recently. Falling on the stone is a metaphor, of course. What the Spirit is saying through Jesus is saying is that those who come to Him via the Cross will be broken. And through the process of being broken via the Cross, we will find the narrow path that leads to eternal life.

Note that the alternative to being broken by falling on the stone is to have the stone fall on us and be ground into powder. We become dust in the wind. No Light and no Life.

If we read the next verse, we find the priests and Pharisees very upset by what the Spirit is saying through Jesus.

"Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet." (Matthew 21:45-46)

I find it interesting that the priests and Pharisees refused to be broken via the Cross. But this explains why they could not see or hear the Lord. They were blind. The eyes of their hearts were completely shut. This is precisely why Jesus told His disciples to let go of the priests and the Pharisees. The Lord said:

"Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." (Matthew 15:14)

Oh, how religion can blind a person! Hearts become filled and cluttered with meaningless things. These things block the very thing that a religious person claims to possess - an intimate relationship with God. If you want to see how the Lord feels about blind, religious leaders, have a look at the verses in Matthew 23. There can be no mistaking what the Lord thinks. It's as clear as day.

Paul was a Pharisee at one time in his life. He was, as he states in his letter to the Philippians "a Hebrew of the Hebrews" (Philippians 3:5). Paul counted his former religion and status as a Pharisee as "rubbish" (Philippians 3:8). How beautiful! His view of everything changed - COMPLETELY when he saw Christ. He knew Christ (and longed to know Him more deeply). He valued the Cross. He only desired to know Him and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10). Paul realized that he could do all things through Christ (Philippians 3:13).

ALL THINGS, THROUGH CHRIST.

Christ through us. That's what the Cross is - it's the place where we die and the Spirit lives in us and works through us. The Cross delivers eternal life - a Spirit-filled life with Fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). Beyond the Cross is Christ. Entrance into Him is only through the Cross.

The Pharisee Saul of Tarsus fell on the stone and was broken. He became Saint Paul. How lovely!

Here's something from T. Austin-Sparks that resonates with today's message:

"In the divide between the two creations there is planted the Cross of Christ. The Cross has a death side and a life side; death to the old, life to the new. The recognition and acceptance of the Cross in this twofold meaning is God's only way to the new creation. To the believer who receives Him by faith the Holy Spirit is given as the inward intelligent power for witnessing to the Cross against the one and for the other. Hence the immeasurably great importance of a life governed by the Holy Spirit at all points and in all things. Only that which, by the Spirit, is immediately out from God will survive or get through. All else must perish with the creation which God has placed under condemnation.

It is not what is done for God that will last, but what is done by God.

The measure of spiritual value is determined by the measure in which God promotes it, not the measure of human activities according to human judgments and energies in the name of God."

Source: A New Creation

May you fall on the stone and be broken, so that you may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.

Agape,

Steve

Love, Light and Life

On December 22, 2007, I received a vision - a powerful vision. I saw three words - Love, Light and Life. I asked the Lord to illuminate the vision for me, but that's all He gave me at the time. Just three words.

I spent a few days reflecting on the vision. I knew intuitively something important was going on, but I wasn't sure what the Lord wanted me to do. I went ahead and purchased the following URL:

http://www.lovelightlife.org/

I mentioned the vision and the URL to Christine and a few other Spirit-filled hearts. They thought it was great. The title of the organization resonated with them. They all asked the same simple question:

What is LoveLightLife.org?

I wasn't sure. I knew Sweetbird's music would be a piece of the organization, but the other pieces of the organization were sketchy. I meditated for a while and was able to draft a mission statement for LoveLightLife.org (LLL.org for short). Here's what I wrote:

To provide assistance to those who are struggling in life and to help them find their way back to the light through works of love. The organization will provide free counseling services to individuals, couples, and families seeking help with their lives. It will also include the publication and distribution of free written materials (articles, books), recorded inspirational talks and music. Organizational members will be available for educational seminars and other speaking engagements. The organization will seek partnerships with companies and other organizations that can facilitate its works of love throughout the world.

I had Christine cook up a logo for the organization. Here's what we came up with:











It's been over nine months since my vision. I've thought about creating a website for LLL.org, but I haven't been able to see the site yet - it's like the proverbial ship out in an ocean fog. However, something happened this morning that made me see deeper into the vision the Lord gave me last December. Let me explain.

I was meditating this morning and came across something T. Austin-Sparks wrote back in the late 1920s, from a book titled: The Centrality and Universality of the Cross. Here's what I read:

"Let Christians also realize that all enmity; lack of love, divisions, and strife; all prejudice, suspicion, and spiritual blindness; with all spiritual death, is because the Cross has not been apprehended aright. Somewhere uncrucified flesh is holding the ground. It is impossible to be a truly crucified man or woman and at the same time either have personal interests or be at variance with other children of God, i.e. without love for them. The essential basis of life, light, and love - which is Christ in full manifestation - is the Cross as a working reality in the realm of the old creation, and the Risen Power of Christ in the new.

All this is but saying in other words that the Cross of Christ brings us into living union and oneness with God, and if we will but live in the full meaning and value of that union we shall be living epistles of Christ in terms of life, light, and love. Failure in these means failure somewhere, and for some reason, in our fellowship with God in Christ. The measure of our walk with Him will be the measure of these three features of Christ."

There, in two simple paragraphs, from a book published nearly 100 years ago, is the clear vision of what LLL.org is all about! Let's have closer look at the parts in bold. In the first paragraph, Sparks is saying that all the darkness we see in organized Christianity is produced by uncrucified flesh. In other words, the Cross isn't there. There has been no crufixion. There are people worshiping God and Jesus Christ, but they haven't been crucified. Their flesh is still very much alive. Sparks says this explains the enmity, divisions, lack of love, strife, prejudice, suspicion, and spiritual blindness we see in Christianity. All of this is present today in modern day Christianty.

Oh, how I cried out to the Lord after my revelation for clarity on this very issue. After my revelation, I ran into organized Christianity thinking that's where I would find more hearts filled with the Spirit. But I was sadly mistaken. What I found was all the things Sparks mentioned in his book - enmity, divisions, strife, prejudice, suspicion and worst of all, lack of love and spiritual blindness. To be sure, I met a few people that clearly had seen the Lord and were not spiritually blind. But I would say 99.999% of the people I met were uncrucified Christians. They had little if any Spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).

It took me a few years, but I let go of organized Christianity, just as the Lord told the disciples to let go of the Pharisees and their Judaism (Matthew 5:14). I learned a valuable lesson over that period of time - never confuse Christ with Christianity or with Christians. Many people make this mistake, and it is a bad mistake to make. Christ is God's true expression of love. Many Christians have not entered into this love nor do they know it. They haven't yet seen Christ. They may one day. Let us pray mightily that they do, for there is always hope (1 Cor. 13:13).

Let's examine the last piece of what Sparks said in his book. Note the words: "Living union and oneness with God" and "if we live in the full meaning and value of that union we shall be living epistles of Christ in terms of life, light, and love." The Cross produces life, light and love!!! We enter into Christ through the Cross. The Cross is the gateway to a living union and oneness with God.

I wrote in yesterday's blog post that the Cross is central to all things of Christ. The Cross is crucifixion, but it is more than that - it is, death, burial and resurrection. Without the Cross, there can be no life, light, and love. The Cross is the place where we are utterly broken. It's the place were our egos and our wills perish and we become One with God and his true expression of love. The Cross represents God's will. The crucifixion of Jesus was all about doing God's will. It was the ulimate act of love. And out of that act arose life, light and love.

The Cross, death, burial and resurrection = Love, Light and Life

Can you see the power in that equation?

Having read Sparks this morning, I can now see the mission of LLL.org more clearly. Everything revolves around the Cross. There is no love, light and life without the Cross. I have no idea at the moment how LLL.org will evolve in the future, but I do know with great certainty that the Cross will be the foundation of everything the organization does - everything!

As I've noted before, walking in love (Ephesians 5:1-2) is a process. Often times the Lord will give us a vision, but leave out the details. I believe He does this because we need to grow more fully into Christ in order to understand the vision. The Spirit guides us into that deeper understanding, but it takes a lot of prayer and meditation. It will be interesting to see what happens with LoveLightLife.org. Stay tuned!

May we all become living epistles of Christ in terms of life, light and love.

Agape,

Steve

Postcript: I've just begun reading Sparks' book, The Centrality and Universality of the Cross. I have no doubt that I'll be blogging a great deal on material from this book in the near future.

True Fire

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, 'If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.'"
(Matthew 16:24-25)

I was meditating this morning and came across something from a book by T. Austin-Sparks that hit upon a theme that has been running through my blog posts over the past month. I wanted to share the passage from Sparks' book that I thought was insightful.

I would like to preface the discussion of what Sparks says with something I noted last week in a previous blog post. As I noted, there is a direct link between brokenness and receiving the Spirit. The Cross is where we are broken. It is through the Cross - where we go from being natural and earthly creations to spiritual and heavenly creations. The Cross is not optional for this transition. It is CENTRAL to walking in love and entering into eternal life. The Cross is what separates the old from the new, the earthly from the spiritual.

With that context, let's look at what I came across while reading Sparks. He says:

"It was something which looked like the true, but it was false, and the Spirit of God knew the difference. We have to be very careful that we do not create false fire, for that is the danger of strong personalities. Do you notice how many of these things which look like life have come from strong personalities? They are uncrucified Christian men! Is that a contradiction in terms? No, the Cross has to divide between soul and spirit, and if you see the fire coming from strong, forceful soulish men, you have reason to doubt the reality of it. When the true fire comes, it is always through crucified men.

I think the Apostle Peter could have created a lot of false fire. He was a man who was always trying to get things going! He would rush in in front of someone else, and would even tell the Lord Jesus where to get on and where to get off! It would have been a poor lookout for Christianity if it had come through Peter! But Peter had to go to the Cross, and the true fire of the Holy Spirit did not come until he was an utterly broken man."

There is much light in these two paragraphs, as is often the case with Sparks' material. I would like to focus on the the two sentences in bold above. First, there is the concept of "true fire" which is in contrast to what Sparks calls "false fire." True fire comes through crucifixion - through the Cross. Not sometimes or most of the time, but ALWAYS!

I wonder how many people have asked their priest, pastor or minister if he or she has been crucified? And, of those that have asked this vital question, I wonder what percentage of the responses were truthful? There is nothing like being in the presence of true fire. Sadly, I think there is a great deal of false fire in Christianity today, which would explain the global cooling of love we see in the world (more on this topic in the future).

The second point, which goes to the heart of one of the main issues we've been discussing recently, is what Sparks has to say about the disciple Peter. Sparks notes that Peter was capable of creating a great deal of false fire before his personal revelation of Christ. The true fire of the Holy Spirit came when Peter went to the Cross and was utterly broken. Please go back to the last sentence of the Sparks material above and re-read it. When I re-read that sentence, the words "UTTERLY BROKEN" leap off the page.

The Holy Spirit comes via the Cross when we are utterly broken. Does this resonate with you? Do you see the connection?

Oh, how the Lord broke me! My whole world collapsed within a span of a year. It was as if I had fallen into a giant black hole. It was so painful (there are no padded crosses!). Through the pain, I sought love. I had been seeking true love my whole life. In a moment of great desperation, as I was intensely seeking true love, the Lord awoke me at 3:45 am and revealed Himself to me.

"I am Love," I heard Him say.

(For more on my revelation, see my blog post "I Am Love" in the June 2007 blog archives).

Paul, formerly Saul of Tarsus, was broken. Mary, John, Thomas, Peter and all of the other disciples were broken. Stephen was broken (and later stoned to death by Saul of Tarsus and his religious clan). Barnabas and Timothy were also broken. T. Austin-Sparks and Oswald Chambers were broken. The list of broken men and women goes on and on (and it's a beautiful list, indeed!)

Brokenness is painful, but through this pain we receive the true fire of the Holy Spirit. Brokenness emerges out of darkness. But it is in the darkness that we see the Light. That is the purpose of darkness - to provide contrast to the Light. Without the darkness, it would be very difficult, perhaps even impossible, to see the Light. I once heard a spiritual man put this way: God uses black chalk (the darkness) to illuminate His white chalkboard (His Love and Heavenly Kingdom).

I've been wondering why it is so difficult sometimes for darkness to break various people. I know quite a few people that refuse to be broken. It doesn't matter how dark it gets in their life, they just refuse to go down. Instead of being broken, they become very angry and are frequently upset. Sometimes they get violent. Apparently, the Cross may be too painful.

The Lord knew that many people would not be able to take up their crosses and follow Him. He said:

"But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
(Matthew 7:14)

Only a few find it. If you listen to the chatter coming out of organized Christianity, you would think that many have found the road that leads to life. But this contradicts what the Lord says. Only few find it.

Why only a few?

I think it is because many people refuse to take up their crosses and be broken. That would certainly seem to explain a lot of what we see in organized religion - uncrucified men and women - false fire. Many people refuse to lay down their lives, they refuse to give up things - their religion, their many earthly possessions or whatever else they may be clinging to in their lives. But give up we must, if we wish to walk in love follow the Lord.

There is a wonderful passage of Scripture in Paul's letter to the Philippians. It goes right to the heart of being utterly broken and giving up all things to enter into Christ. Here's what Paul wrote:

"If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:4-11)

Paul gave up his proud religious past to gain Christ. In fact, as a Hebrew of Hebrews, he says he counts all those things as rubbish. RUBBISH! Everything that Paul once treasured, including his Judaism, was now rubbish.

That's precisely what happens on the Cross. The past burns up and becomes irrelevant. All one can see is Christ.

How do we lose all the baggage of the past that is keeping our spirits held hostage by our souls and our flesh? Through the Cross! It is where we are broken and the baggage gets left behind. Our spirits then soar with the Spirit!

May you be broken through the Cross and may the true fire of the Holy Spirit come upon you.

Agape,

Steve

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

"The anointing which ye received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any one teach you" (1 John 2:27).

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man" (1 Cor. 2:14-15).

I came across something Oswald Chambers wrote decades ago that goes to the heart of the issue I blogged on last week (see: Filled With the Spirit). Here's what Mr. Chambers said:

There is only one thing as futile as the Roman Catholic Church and that is Protestantism. In Roman Catholicism the great dominating authority is Churchianity; the Church is vested with all authority. In Protestantism it is what the Book says that is the supreme authority, and a man gets rest when he decides for either. "I am going to give up all the turmoil and let my Church do my thinking for me." If you put your faith in a Church, it will solve your problems for you. Or you may stake your faith in Bibliolatry with the same result. "Ye search the scriptures, because ye think in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of Me, and ye will not come to Me that ye may have life" (John 5:39-40 RV). Jesus Christ says neither the Church nor the Bible is the authority, but "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"; the Church and the Bible are secondary. The context of the Bible is Jesus Christ, and a personal relationship with Him interprets the Bible in a man's life.

(Source: The Shadow of an Agony)

This is a powerful statement that is not well appreciated nearly 2,000 years after Calvary. The last sentence sums everything up very well:

"A personal relationship with Him interprets the Bible in a man's life."

It's a well known fact that the disciples did not carry Bibles with them. Nor did Paul or the other early followers of Christ. What all these men and women had was a direct connection to God via the Holy Spirit. They were all once natural men - earthly men and women. But they became new creations when they were finally broken and received the Spirit.

The Spirit is the Instructor. He guides our hearts. The Scriptures are there for us to confirm what the Spirit is telling us. It's no accident that the Acts of the Apostles doesn't have a formal ending. It is still being written today by the Holy Spirit.

The Pharisees knew the five books of Moses and the written words of the Prophets backwards and forwards, but that didn't prevent them from spitting in Jesus' face and crucifying the Lord. You see, the Pharisees knew the words as written in their Scriptures, but they didn't understand their meaning. The Holy Spirit gives us the faculty to understand the Scriptures. Without the Holy Spirit, it's impossible to understand the Scriptures. Jesus and the Spirit were one. Listen to the Spirit pouring through the Lord in these Scriptures:

"No one comes to the Father except through Me."
(John 4:40)

"But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
(John 4:24-24)

"Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.
(John 8:58)

Before Abraham, I am! What an incredibly powerful statement that is! It is the Alpha and the Omega blasting through Jesus. The Pharisees were greatly puzzled when they heard the Spirit saying this through Jesus. "Isn't he not yet 50 years old?," they asked each other. How could he exist before Abraham? Abraham lived thousands of years ago. Impossible!

Leave it to religious hearts to try to make a spiritual thing an earthly thing. As soon as something spiritual is made into something earthly, it dies. The Lord was very clear: We must Him worship in spirit and in truth. We must!

Spirituality is key. Here's how T. Austin-Sparks put it:

"A spiritual state is the key to all that is of God. Spirituality is the door, and the key to the door, beyond which lies everything that relates to God. Without spirituality, there is no way through, the door is closed. The word "cannot" stands written as an impassable barrier -"cannot understand or receive the things of the Spirit of God." In reality, our lives are set in a realm of things spiritual. God is Spirit, therefore the supreme Reality, the supreme factor, the ultimate environment of this universe - God - is Spirit."

The Spirit is One. It is not divided. As the Spirit said through Paul:

"He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." (1 Cor. 6:17)

There are over 40,000 Christian denominations today. There are millions of man-made churches separated from each other by earthly (man-made) labels. But Christ is not divided. Satan can and does divide and subdivide churches men build, but Christ cannot be divided. He is One. Jesus is not Catholic nor Protestant. Jesus is Christ - the true expression of God's love. God has no religion. He is Spirit, and we worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Here's how Oswald Chambers defines the Church:

"The Church is a separated band of people who are united to God by the regenerating power of the Spirit, and the bedrock of membership in the Church is that we know who Jesus is by a personal revelation of Him. The indwelling Spirit is the supreme Guide, and He keeps us absorbed with our Lord."

United by the power of the Spirit - who know the Lord by a personal revelation of Him. The Spirit inside is the supreme Guide. Yes, indeed!

Jesus was adamant about the disciples not doing anything until they received the Spirit (Acts 1). The disciples received the Holy Spirit after Jesus ascended into heaven - not while they were walking the earth with Him. They were very much of an earthly nature when they were walking with Him - Peter especially so.

Tragically, there have been many Christians that have disobeyed the Lord and gone out to preach without the Spirit. That kind of behavior is a recipe for darkness, despair, and disaster, as history clearly documents.

Have you had a personal revelation of the Lord? This is, as Mr. Chambers says, the bedrock of membership in Christ's church - the Church that cannot be divided nor penetrated by Satan.

May you posses a personal relationship with the Lord through revelation and truly know God's never-failing love.

His love is the greatest.
(1 Corinthians 13:13)

Agape,

Steve

Filled With the Spirit

It is possible to know all about doctrine and yet not know Jesus. The soul is in danger when knowledge of doctrine outsteps intimate touch with Jesus... Any Pharisee could have made a fool of Mary doctrinally, but one thing they could not ridicule out of her was the fact that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her; yet His blessings were nothing in comparison to Himself... Have I a personal history with Jesus Christ? The one sign of discipleship is intimate connection with Him, a knowledge of Jesus Christ which nothing can shake.

- Oswald Chambers

I came across the above quote today and thought I would share it with readers. Mr. Chambers makes a very important point - one that is not well appreciated. I would ask readers to meditate on what he is saying. The truth is, you can memorize every single word of the Bible or go to Bible study every single day of your life and still not know Jesus nor have an intimate relationship wtih Him. Many people attend Seminary, study the Scriptures intensely, and even become theologians. But, sadly, despite their great efforts, they have not seen Christ nor do they know Him or have a relationship with Him. To be sure, they know a great many things about the Lord. But they do not know Him. You may know some of these people. Christianity is littered with them.

It is the Spirit that links us with Christ - not how much doctrine we possess or whether we have a Ph.D in Bible studies. Once filled with the Spirit, we can understand the Scriptures. When you read The Acts of the Apostles in the Bible, you see clearly that it wasn't until the disciples received the Spirit that they were able to know the true meaning of the Scriptures. The Scriptures came to life after they received the Spirit!

The Spirit reveals the meaning of the Scriptures. He is the teacher. Without the Spirit, it is impossible to understand the Scriptures. Likewise, without the Spirit, it is impossible to have an intimate relationship with Christ.

How do we connect with the Spirit? This is a question I've been pondering for a long time. What I've discovered is that for many people, it comes through being broken. I was broken back in December of 2002. I didn't fully appreciate how brokenness led to my revelation, but I have no doubt that brokenness played a key role in my spiritual awakening.

A few years ago, I came across a book by Watchmen Nee titled, "Release of the Spirit," that discusses how brokenness can lead to the release of the Spirit. I am fond of giving this book out to people who long for an intimate relationship with the Lord. Nee does a wonderful job explaining how brokenness creates spiritual beings.

The Lord was clear about those who would know Him intimately. He said:

"I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)

Brokenness can lead to spiritual rebirth - a process whereby we become new creations, where we become connected with Christ. When this happens, we can have an intimate relationship with the Lord. And there is nothing more beautiful in the universe. Being one with Love - One with a love that never fails (1 Cor. 13: 8).

Interestingly and sadly, many people refuse to be broken. No matter how dark their lives become, they just won't go down! They become very angry, or their hearts become filled with shame and guilt. There is no shame or guilt in Christ. And we know that Love is not easily angered (1 Cor. 13:5).

May you be broken and filled with the Spirit.

Agape,

Steve

A Wall Street to Nowhere

The measure of a man's want is seen in the nature of the power that awakened it. No man can stand in front of Jesus Christ and say, "I want to make money."
- Oswald Chambers

I've been getting a lot of emails and calls from friends wanting to tap into my financial mind for advice of what to do during the chaos and turmoil on Wall Street. I've spent over 20 years on Wall Street - both as an analyst and an investment manager. For several years, I taught a popular course on investing to undergraduates at a private university in Connecticut. Some would say I'm an expert in financial affairs.

While I am open to helping people with their finances, I have to make a confession: Since my revelation on December 7, 2002, my view of Wall Street has changed dramatically. I used to think that Wall Street was everything. It's where I made my living. If you took away Wall Street, you took away my livelihood. Today, I know that Wall Street is nothing.

You might think this is a strange thing for somebody with my background to say, but I say it with great conviction. How do I know Wall Street is nothing? Let me explain.

My revelation of Christ - how God chose to reveal Himself to me - was through the Scripture in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 13. The opening verses of 1 Corinthians 13 tell us everything we need to know to what Wall Street is and isn't.

The Spirit, through Paul, said to the Corinthians:

"If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." (1 Cor. 13:2)

When you have spent a great deal of time on Wall Street, as I have, you see very clearly that money is god, not love. And therein lies the problem with Wall Street: It has not love.

Wall Street is all about knowledge. You train for Wall Street by attending the finest universities in the world. You study and then you study some more. Gaining knowledge becomes your primary goal. The more you know, you are told, the more successful you will likely be on Wall Street. There is a good deal to be said for the value of prophecy on Wall Street. Investors listen to prophecies about the markets all of the time. People make livings on Wall Street forecasting the direction of stocks, interest rates, economic activity, inflation, etc. They are paid to tell people about the future.

The Lord is very clear on the value of prophecy and knowledge. We can have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all knowledge - yes, we can have all knowledge - but if we have not love in our hearts, we are nothing.

Nothing!

There is an old adage on Wall Street: "If you want a friend, buy a dog." That's about as much love you will find on the Street. A heart filled with love - God's love - has little if any value on the Street. Wall Street idolizes money. If you know how to make money, you are welcome on the Street. If you know how to make a lot of money consistently, you become a god. There is no value to telling people how to walk in love. Zippo!

This is tragic when you stop to think deeply about it. But that's Wall Street. I will make a prediction. As long as money is god, Wall Street will continue to experience crashes, panics, and bubbles. Wall Street is driven by fear and greed - these are the basic ingredients for crashes, pancis and bubbles.

In Christ - in God's true expression of love - there is no fear or greed. His love casts out all fear and greed. Wall Street loves money. But money cannot buy God's love. This fact illustrates the worthlessness of money compared to love.

My advice to those who are wondering what to do amid the chaos on Wall Street is simple:

Seek first the kingdom of God, not money.

A Spirit-filled heart pursues love and lets God take care of the rest. He will provide all the resources you need. You can take that guarantee to the bank!

May you have God's never-failing love in your heart, always and forever.

Agape,

Steve

Sweetbird's Evolution - A Spiritual Perspective

"the Holy Spirit does not come save on the ground of death, burial and resurrection."
- T. Austin-Sparks

"he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life."
(Galatians 6:8, ASV)

Death, Burial, Resurrection, and eternal Life. Four words - four powerful words that carry so much meaning in the Spiritual realm. Today, something special happened that involved these four words and I wanted to share it with readers.

I was taking a short break today when the light went on and I saw something - something that I didn't see before. I don't ever question when the Lord chooses to reveal something to me. He does it when the time is right. His timing is always perfect. Today was the day when I saw clearly the evolution of Sweetbird. I SAW IT! And when I saw it, it made perfect sense to me. In order to understand what I saw, we need a little context.

Sweetbird was formed a year or so prior to my powerful, and life-altering, revelation (see my blog post "I Am Love" in the June 2007 blog archives). Death is what brought Christine and me together. It was how the Lord chose to unite us. I had just lost my father, my best friend, to cancer, and witnessed the 9-11-01 terrorists attacks from my office window in NYC. Sweetbird's first record, Free Spirit Reflection, was written and recorded during a period when both Christine and I were dealing with death. The song I received during my revelation, "I Am Love," appeared on the first record. There are several songs that deal with the subject of death: "Angels on High," "Broken Heart Blues," "Be On Your Way," and "Gray Dog."

In summary, Sweetbird's Free Spirit Reflection was about death.

The next Sweetbird record, Soul Fire, was written largely during the period 2003-2004. This was a time when Christine and I were spending a great deal of time on the cross. This is a time when the dead things of the past were being buried and there was a longing something more - for a life filled with love and light. You can hear this theme throughout the record. "Kindred Spirit" - a longing to be home, where love is; "A Time to Heal" - dealing with the past to move forward with the Spirit. "October's Child" - a prayer for love to light the way.

Whereas Free Spirit Reflection was about death, Soul Fire was about burial.

Death and burial - what comes after these three, spiritually speaking?

Resurrection!

Sweetbird's third release, Shine, is all about resurrection. Something remarkable occurred in 2005 as we were finishing up the recording for Soul Fire. On Easter morning, as I was meditating deeply, the Lord spoke to me and said, in His gentle voice: "Give me the music." I was stunned at first, not sure if I heard what I thought I had heard. He said it again, "Give me the music," knowing that I needed to hear it again to be sure. Tears immediately began flowing. What a cry that was! That morning rivaled the experience of my revelation. Needless to say, Sweetbird's music hasn't been the same since that time. It is His music - every single piece of it. Many of the songs on Shine are, in fact, inspired words received directly from the Holy Spirit - the very same Spirit that resurrected Jesus. I go back and listen to songs like "Live to Love," "Shine," "Maybe Tomorrow" and "Trust in Me." I didn't write these songs. They were received from the Spirit. The song I did write, "In My Heart," in collaboration with Christine, was the last song on the record. That song was a love song written directly to the Lord in appreciation for his never-failing love and grace. When I listen to "In My Heart" today, I can tell that Christine and I were entering more fully into Christ. There is, indeed, no turning back. True love is exactly what we found. God's love was resurrecting us.

Put simply, Sweetbird's Shine is all about resurrection.

Which brings me to the last of the four words - eternal life. Death, burial and resurrection give birth to eternal life. Listen to the Spirit pouring through Paul's surrendered heart:

"he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life."
(Galatians 6-8, ASV)

Eternal life is a gift of the Spirit. And what a great gift it is! It is the GREATEST GIFT of all.

Which brings me to a discussion of the next Sweetbird record, a record on which Christine and I have been working very hard over the past year. I received the title of the record last year. It came to me after meditating on a piece written by Oswald Chambers. It's as if the title leaped off the page and hit me right between the eyes. I saw it so clearly:

THE GREAT LIFE

When the title of the fourth Sweetbird record was decided upon, I didn't fully understand what was happening. But I knew the title was right. Thus far, Christine and I have written 16 songs for The Great Life. There's also a cover of Patty Griffin's, "Christina." It's easily Sweetbird's most ambitious project and it's most deeply spiritual record. We are both excited to finish the project and know it will be completed only in the Lord's time. As it stands right now, we are hoping and praying The Great Life comes out before Christmas 2009 - or perhaps even on Christmas Day, which would be fitting.

We can summarize everything I just explained, as such:

Sweetbird's Evolution - A Spiritual Perspective
2003: Free Spirit Reflection = death
2005: Soul Fire = burial
2007: Shine = resurrection
2009: The Great Life = eternal life

When viewed from a spiritual perspective, Sweetbird's evolution makes all the sense in the world to Christine and me. The Holy Spirit is guiding us. It is all so clear. Here's something I came across in a little book by T. Austin-Sparks that confirms the whole experience. Sparks says:

"the Holy Spirit does not come save on the ground of death, burial and resurrection."
(T. Austin-Sparks, Life in the Spirit)

Sparks is saying that death, burial and resurrection are the ground of the Holy Spirit! These three produce life - eternal life - great life!

Where there is death, burial and resurrection, there is eternal life through the government of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus showed us the way to the great life: there was death on the Cross, there was burial and then there was resurrection and eternal life. How beautiful is that? From death comes life - eternal life. GREAT LIFE!

May you experience death, burial and resurrection, and may you experience eternal life - the greatest life of all.

Agape,

Steve

Crucified to the Religious World

Yesterday I posted a piece on the importance of crucifixion as a way to Christ. I came across a lovely essay written by T. Austin Sparks that discusses the importance of being crucified to the religious world. I wanted to share the entire piece with readers. Here it is:


Crucified to the Religious World
by T. Austin-Sparks

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Galatians 6:14).

It is interesting to notice the particular way in which the Apostle speaks of the world here. That term is a very comprehensive term and includes a very great deal. Here Paul gets right down to the spirit of the thing. You notice the context; it is well for us to take account of it:

"For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh" (Galatians 6:13).

What does the Apostle mean? They want to say, "See how many proselytes we are making! See how many followers and disciples we are getting! See how successful our movement is! See what a power we are becoming in the world! See all the marks of Divine blessing resting upon us!" The Apostle says that is worldliness in principle and spirit; that is the world. He sets over against this his own clear spiritual position. Do I seek glory of men? Do I seek to be well-pleasing to men? No! The world is crucified to me, and I to the world.

All that sort of thing does not weigh with me. What weighs with me is not whether my movement is successful, whether I am getting a lot of followers, whether there are all the manifestations outwardly of success; what weighs with me is the measure of Christ in those with whom I have to do: "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you" (Galatians 4:19). Christ formed in you - that is my concern, he says that is what weighs with me... not extensiveness, not bigness, not popularity, not keeping in with the world, so that it is said that this is a successful ministry and a successful movement. That is worldliness. I am dead to all that; I am crucified with Christ to all that. The thing that matters is Christ - the measure of Christ in you.

You see how the world can creep in... and how worldly we can become almost imperceptibly by taking account of things outwardly - of how men will think and talk, what they will say, the attitude they will take; of the measure of our popularity, the talk of our success. That is all the world, says the Apostle, the spirit of the world; that is how the world talks. Those are the values in the eyes of the world, but not in the eyes of the risen Christ. In the new creation, on the resurrection side of the Cross, one thing alone determines value... and that is the measure of Christ in everything. Nothing else is of value at all, however big the thing may be, however popular it may be, however men talk favorably of it; on the resurrection side that does not count a little bit. What counts is how much of Christ there is.

You and I in the Cross of the Lord Jesus must come to the place where we are crucified to all those other elements. Ah, you may be unpopular, and the work be very small; there may be no applause, and the world may despise; but in it all there may be something which is of Christ, and that is the thing upon which our hearts must be set. The Lord gives us grace for that crucifixion. There are few things more difficult to bear than being despised; but He was despised and rejected of men. What a thing is in God's sight must be our standard. That is a resurrection standard. Now that is the victory of the Cross: "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."

*******************

May you be crucified to the religious world and may you know that what truly counts is how much Christ there is. As the great prophet, John the Baptist, said:

He must increase, but we must decrease.
(John 3:30)

Agape,

Steve

Seeing Christ

It's been a while since my last blog post. I've been doing a lot of reading, meditating and praying over the course of the past couple of months. Recently, I came across a wonderful passage from a book by T. Austin-Sparks titled "The Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." The whole book is treasure filled with tremendous light. At the conclusion of the book, in Chapter 7, Sparks says the following to his audience:

"Well, now I close, but mark it, calling your attention then to this. How was it that the apostle Paul was able to do this - suffer the loss of all things, count all the things which were gain as mere refuse? How could he do it? It is just the captivation of being a servant. And that's a great motive, isn't it? "For me to live is Christ. I have no other object or motive in living but Christ. Christ." Look at the large place Christ has in this letter again. "For me to live is Christ." And "I can do all things through Him, Christ, who strengtheneth me." He was captivated by Christ. And that captivation by Christ, the Christ that he had seen, come to know, was so infinitely, infinitely greater beyond all these things which he at one time had counted gain. Position in the world, possessions in the world, and everything - these are nothing when you've seen the Lord Jesus! And there's no other way of victory but seeing the Lord Jesus. But it's only crucified people who truly see the Lord Jesus. Do you know that?"

Only crucified people truly see the Lord. Do you know that? People have asked me in the past "How does one see Christ?"

Now you know. You must be crucified to truly see Christ. Crucifixion means death to self/ego. You must die so that Christ can be resurrected and live in you and through you.

It is no longer I, but Christ.
(Galatians 2:20)

That is what "The Way" is - death via cruifixion, as a means of achieving eternal life. Paul told everybody who would listen:

"We preach Christ crucified."

That, my beloved ones, is the Gospel - eternal life through death on the Cross.

Jesus showed us the way. The Way!

And let's be perfectly clear on one very important issue. The Law can never resurrect the dead. We can do good things for the Lord, but those things will not produce eternal life. Love is the gateway to eternal life via the Cross. I believe this is the central lesson of Paul's conversion from a Jewish Rabbi - a Pharisee - to a follower of Christ. Put simply, a former keeper of the law was reduced to love. Two-thirds of the New Testament tells the story and illustrates the power of this conversion. It's as good as it gets!

As the Spirit said through Paul:

"and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love is the fulfillment of the law.
(Romans 13:9-10)

May you be crucified and see Christ. And may you be resurrected and know God's never-failing love.

Agape,

Steve